


There Until The End

by megsblackfire



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Jack is dying, M/M, Modern AU, no happy ending, prepare to cry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-10 04:23:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12291174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megsblackfire/pseuds/megsblackfire
Summary: Gabriel had never wanted to see Jack in this state. It was wrong. Jack wasn't supposed to look like that when he was still so young. But he had to be there. He had to be in that hospital room for him, no matter how much pain he had caused Jack. He couldn't let the love of his life, the man he had wronged, die alone.





	There Until The End

**Author's Note:**

> Here's your weekly dose of angst, everyone. Enjoy the show.

“You come to gloat?”

Gabriel stood in the doorway to the hospital room, the bouquet of flowers clutched to his chest. He’d been warned that Jack looked bad, but he hadn’t been expecting this. He hadn’t expected the man to be a shell, to be so thin, to look so sick and old. It broke his heart to see Jack like this and he wished he could take back all the horrible things he had said to him over the years. Jack hadn’t deserved any of it and he certainly didn’t deserve this.

“No,” Gabriel said as he moved across the hospital room. “I…came to see you.”

“Not much to see,” Jack sneered as he gestured a twig-thin arm towards the machines he was hooked up to. “Meet the family. They’re the only things keeping this body from killing itself in protest.”

Gabriel set the flowers on the nightstand. Jack curled his lip at them, but he didn’t comment. He must have been so sick of flowers. Everyone would have brought them, hoping to make Jack feel better. As if flowers could do anything but sit there and look pretty while he wasted away. He should have brought something better, something that might have actually kept him company. Like a stuffed cat or something. Jack always loved stuffed animals, the goofball.

“Why are you really here, Reyes?” Jack growled.

“To see you,” Gabriel repeated. “I heard about…the diagnosis. I wanted to see you.”

“What a crock of shit,” Jack snapped and turned his head to glare at him.

Gaunt. So gaunt. Gabriel could see the contours of Jack’s skull through his flesh. He wasn’t supposed to look like that. He wasn’t supposed to be so thin! Jack had always been small, sure, but he had been solid too. Nothing had ever been able to keep him down; he’d wrestle a bear to the ground, huffing and puffing, and emerge victorious. Now? He’d be lucky if a strong breeze didn’t snap him in half. It was so _wrong_.

Jack had always been so full of life. When Gabriel had heard; too late, always too late because everyone thought he didn’t care; that Jack was in the hospital, he hadn’t believed it. Why would Jack be in the hospital when he was still so young? But he trusted Ana so he’d bought flowers and went to see him; part of him wished he didn’t.

“You and I both know you don’t do sentiments,” Jack sneered, curling his lip back over his teeth. Yellow and one or two were turning black. What sort of meds did they have him on? “So just admit that you’ve come to laugh one more time at me before returning to your perfect, white-picket fence life.”

Gabriel could see the tears forming on Jack’s white eyelashes and he swallowed. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “Jack….”

“Oh, fuck off, Reyes,” Jack snarled. “You really think that you can show up at my deathbed and beg for my forgiveness? That you saying sorry is going to magically sweep away all the bullshit I went through because I found out the love of my life thought I was lower than dog shit?”

“That’s not true, Jack,” Gabriel said. “I just didn’t think we were good for each other at the time.”

“Yah, because I was a three-time drop-out from a community college and you were an up-and-coming businessman that didn’t want my horrible life choices bogging you down,” Jack glared at him.

Tears were starting to fall down his cheeks, turning his eyes bloodshot. He reached one tiny, emaciated hand up to wipe the tears away, sniffling loudly. Gabriel closed his eyes; he had said such terrible things about Jack when he had been struggling with his life. He had needed someone to stand by him but Gabriel had cared more about his own career than the man that should have meant everything to him.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“No, I didn’t,” Jack snapped. “I didn’t deserve any of your bullshit!”

Jack sank back against his hospital bed and started crying. His whole body shook and the machines around him started beeping angrily. Gabriel lowered his head in shame and sat down in the chair beside the bed. He didn’t know why he was hoping that Jack would react better than this. He hadn’t done anything to warrant a reaction that was better than this. He was a disgusting human being for reducing a dying man to tears because of how insensitive he had been in his youth.

“Jack,” he said, “I can’t take back the years I took from you. I just…I want to be here for you.”

“What a time for you to decide to grow a heart, Gabriel Reyes,” Jack snarled. “I’m fucking _months_ from dying and you show up to be the supportive friend you never were for me. Fuck you. Fuck you with a fucking rusted spoon!”

Jack beat a fist against the bed and let out a shriek of pain. Gabriel was torn between fleeing and grabbing the other man. He hovered an inch above his seat, trying to figure out what to do. His decision was made for him when Jack’s hand flew towards him.

“It hurts! It hurts so much! I hate this! Why won’t they just let me die?” Jack sobbed as his fingers clawed at Gabriel’s sleeve. “It hurts! Fuck, fuck! What else do they have to see?!”

Gabriel grabbed Jack’s hand and squeezed gently, staring at him as he thrashed in his bed. Tears burned his eyes as Jack started beating the back of his head against the headrest, sobbing pathetically until he went limp. Gabriel watched the heartrate monitor, sighing in relief as it beeped steadily. He hadn’t just knocked himself out cold with his thrashing.

“I hate this,” Jack whimpered. “I want to die, but they won’t let me.”

“They probably think they can save you,” Gabriel murmured.

“From Stage Four Intestinal Cancer?” Jack curled his lip. “From fucking tumors that have burrowed their way into all of my organs? I’m dying. I’m a dead man walking. I just want this to end, Gabriel.”

“I’m glad you aren’t dead yet,” Gabriel said as he ran his thumb over the back of Jack’s boney hand. “I got to see you before it was too late.”

“Why didn’t you come sooner when I still had hair?” Jack snapped. “Or when I didn’t look like a fucking skeleton?”

“I was scared,” Gabriel admitted. “Scared I’d say something stupid. Scared I’d send you over the edge. Because I was so terrible to you and…I was right. You weren’t happy to see me. I’m sorry.”

Jack watched him for a long moment before he closed his eyes. “Will you stay?” he asked softly. “Dad isn’t going to get off work for a few more hours. I can’t stand being alone in this Hell.”

“I’ll stay,” Gabriel promised as he reached up to gently cup Jack’s cheek. “As long as you want me.”

Jack smiled and settled back against the bed. He grumbled something about a remote and Gabriel picked it up off the nightstand. He turned the television on and flipped over to the Comedy Network, hoping to get Jack to laugh. Laughter was good for people that were dying, right? It made things a little less bleak.

“I hate this comedian,” Jack said without opening his eyes. “Go to the cartoons.”

Gabriel did as he was ordered and he saw a faint smile cross Jack’s face as some cartoon started playing on the television. He shifted back a little and Gabriel leaned forward to lift his pillow up to support his head. Jack smiled at him and wiped at his eyes.

“This show is awful,” he said. “But it’s about the only thing worth watching at this hour. It’s annoying and grating, but damn it if I have to compulsively watch it. I’m bored enough to enjoy this shit; save me.”

Gabriel chuckled at the resurgence of a personality he recognized. Jack wasn’t supposed to be a weepy mess; the man was supposed to be full of life, not dejected and resigned to his fate. Jack tried to explain to him the plot of the cartoon, but quickly gave up when Gabriel just stared at him in confusion.

“It sounds crazy when I explain it,” he whined.

“I don’t mind,” Gabriel reassured him. “I’m just happy that you’re enjoying it. Even if it is shit.”

Jack rolled his eyes as he settled back against his bed. Gabriel tried to follow what was happening on screen, but he quickly gave up on it and just rested his eyes. Jack giggled a few times and it was the most beautiful sound he’d heard in a long time.

John arrived a few hours later. He looked haggard, like Jack’s illness had sucked the life out of him too. There were heavy wrinkles around his eyes and his mouth didn’t look like it had managed more than a sad smile in years. His eyes were dull, lacking all the beauty that the Morrison men were known for. It didn’t suit the man that Gabriel had watched wrestle a full-grown bull to the ground to get a length of chain off from around its neck before it dug in any deeper into its flesh.

He stared at Gabriel for a long time before a sad, tired smile pulled at one side of his mouth. “Well, hello, Gabriel,” he said. “Ana mentioned that you wanted to come see Jack. Good to see you in good health.”

Gabriel felt his throat tighten and managed a small nod. It was all he could manage; he’d hurt John just as much as he’d hurt Jack when he broke off their relationship. John should have hated his guts; he shouldn’t have been happy to see him. John pulled a chair over to Jack’s bed and sat down, reaching out to squeeze Jack’s hand.

“And how’s my champ today?” he asked.

“Feeling like shit,” Jack grumbled. “Dad….”

“I know,” John sighed heavily. “I promise, if it happens, I won’t let them force you to stay alive. You’ve been through enough, my champion.”

“Thanks,” Jack smiled.

“Wait, what?” Gabriel looked between them in confusion.

“Jack’s had me promise that if anything happened to him that forced him to go on life-support to survive that I’d pull the plug,” John rubbed at his jaw. “I hope I never have to make that decision.”

“I’m sorry,” Jack whispered. “I just….”

“I know, Champ,” John soothed as he squeezed Jack’s hand. “You just focus on breathing, okay? Leave all the medical and legal bullshit to me. It’s what old men are for.”

Jack managed a smile before a nurse came in to change his bed pan. John motioned for Gabriel to follow him so that Jack didn’t have to suffer having someone watch him. They left the room so that Jack had some privacy and John looked at him sadly.

“I can’t tell you how much it means to see you here, Gabriel,” he murmured. “I know how you and Jack ended and it was petty and ugly. But, I know you didn’t mean it. Jack does too. He’s just…not in a good place anymore.”

“He wants to die,” Gabriel murmured softly.

John nodded and swallowed. “There’s no chance of him recovering, Gabriel,” he murmured. “His cancer progressed so fast…. I just want him to die without pain, but the doctors here are…well, Jack signed a waiver allowing them to conduct research.”

“And he can’t tell them to fuck off?” Gabriel growled.

“Jack is willing to let them do anything if he can save someone else further down the line,” John said. “I raised him too well. Even if he’s in pain, he won’t tell the doctors to stop.”

Gabriel felt his throat tighten as the nurse left the room, waving for them to re-enter. He followed John inside, trying to keep his misery off of his face as Jack stared at the ceiling. Gabriel swallowed and tried to smile; Jack had been in here longer than he could ever imagine. He deserved to have Gabriel smiling for him.

“Hey, at least you didn’t find the nurse cute, right?” he joked.

“Yah,” Jack grumbled. “What a relief.”

Gabriel looked at John, but he just shook his head. Perhaps it was best to let Jack have his misery right now.

***

“What is that?” Jack demanded.

“I thought you could use some company,” Gabriel smiled as he set the huge stuffed bear beside Jack. “There. Now you can snuggle someone while you watch your shows.”

Jack stared at the soft brown bear before he slowly wrapped his arms around its neck and hugged it close. He looked up at Gabriel, swallowing as he pressed his face into the soft faux-fur. He looked so small and vulnerable that Gabriel almost felt bad for bringing it to him. That smile, though, made it worth it.

“This is perfect, Gabriel,” he whispered. “Thank you.”

Gabriel smiled as he sat down. “Figured you’d like it,” he said as Jack snuggled the bear. “Maybe it won’t be so lonely here after hours with a friend.”

“That would be great,” Jack sighed as he nuzzled the bear some more. “God, you have no idea how nice this feels.”

“Your dad didn’t bring you anything like that?” Gabriel asked.

“Dad…it’s been really hard on him,” Jack sighed. “He…all of his money is going into my treatment. I can’t wait until he has to stop worrying about me. He shouldn’t have to waste his savings on my hide.”

“Fuck,” Gabriel growled. “I fucking hate our fucking health care system. You shouldn’t have to pay out the ass to save someone’s life!”

“Preaching to the choir, Gabe,” Jack smiled sadly. “This isn’t something that I and the nurses haven’t bitched about.”

Gabriel wanted nothing more in that moment than to lean over and kiss Jack’s pain away. He wished he could reach into Jack’s body and destroy every single cancerous cell in his body. He wished he could come up with something to take away all the pain and help him get back on his feet. This wasn’t fair. Good people like Jack didn’t deserve to die!

“Gabe?” Jack asked.

“You shouldn’t be in this bed,” Gabriel whispered as tears burned his eyes. “You shouldn’t be worrying about your father putting all of his money into saving your life. It’s not fair.”

“It’s not,” Jack agreed. “But what makes me so special from the kids that die of cancer every day? What makes me more important than kids struggling with leukemia? I’m nothing. That’s why I’m in here. I’m no more important than the dirt in an earthworm’s small intestine.”

“You aren’t nothing,” Gabriel snarled. “You mean the world to so many people, Jack! You’re a good person. You have more love and affection in one pinky than most people do in their entire bodies. You don’t deserve this.”

Jack smiled and tears fell down his face. “Well, life’s a bitch, ain’t it?” he whispered. “The good die young and the bad get to sip champagne from our skulls.”

Jack opened his arms and Gabriel climbed up onto the bed beside him. He wept, feeling stupid for crying when Jack was still managing to hold it together. Jack pet his hair, not saying a single word as Gabriel broke down in his arms. He buried his face in Jack’s shoulder, clinging to him as if there was nothing else left for him in the world.

“I’m glad you came to see me, Gabriel,” Jack murmured softly. “It means so much to me. I tried so hard to get over you, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t healthy, I know that, but you were always the first person I thought of when I woke up and the last word on my breath when I went to sleep. Seeing you now, seeing how far you’ve come in life, I’m glad you went on without me.”

“I almost wish I hadn’t,” Gabriel whimpered as he clung to Jack. “I missed you all that time and I realized what a disgusting person I was to you. I wanted you to hate me so that it would be easier for you to move on. I never could. No matter who I was dating, I always wished it was you.”

“Guess we’re both unhealthy men,” Jack chuckled sadly. “Unhealthy, sad men.”

“Yah,” Gabriel agreed as he held Jack close.

The beeping around them had intensified for a few minutes, but now it was back to a steady, healthy pace. Or, whatever was healthy for Jack now. Gabriel laid there with his head on Jack’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. He didn’t notice when John walked in a few hours later with a fresh set of flowers. Jack’s father didn’t say anything to them, simply going around the room and cleaning up.

“Dad, can you turn the TV on?” Jack asked after a few minutes.

“Of course,” John said with a smile.

Gabriel barely heard the television turn on. He glanced up as Jack giggled, but he didn’t see the humour in what they were watching. Jack’s fingers ran slowly through his hair and he managed a sad smile. A nurse came in with Jack’s supper and John moved the tray around to the other side of Jack’s bed so that Gabriel didn’t have to be moved.

“Have you eaten?” John asked as he spooned some soup into Jack’s mouth. “Gabriel?”

“Mmm, not since lunch,” Gabriel admitted.

“Go down to the caf and get something to eat,” John said. “Supper’s meatloaf, I believe.”

“Better than most of the meals here,” Jack mused as he waved the spoon away. “I’m not broken, Dad; I can feed myself.”

“Your hands are occupied with Gabriel’s hair,” John teased. “I figured you’d want a little bit of help while you comfort your big teddy bear.”

Gabriel managed a small smile before he got to his feet. He risked a quick kiss to Jack’s cheek before he left the room. He didn’t get slapped for his actions, so he guessed that Jack appreciated the gesture. He wandered down to the cafeteria and ordered supper, asking if he was allowed to take it back to a patient’s room. With the confirmation, he carried his carefully wrapped supper back to Jack’s room.

John and Jack stopped talking when he entered, but they smiled and continued their conversation when they realized it was him. Gabriel folded himself easily into the conversation, chuckling as he sided with John over which hero was better, Captain America or Ironman.

“But Ironman is a drunk!” Jack shook his head.

“That’s a coping mechanism,” Gabriel said as he mixed gravy with his potatoes. “He still does the right thing when he has to.”

“Okay, but Cap is everything the American dream stands for,” Jack said. “He’s kind, he’s brave, he stands up for the weak and he expects nothing in return.”

“He’s also rather naïve,” John said as he leaned back in his chair.

“That’s just in the movies,” Jack huffed. “If we’re going by that logic, Cap watched his best friend die and then when he learned he was just captured and reprogrammed to help Hydra, he did everything he could to save him.”

“True,” Gabriel agreed. “But he still has to wait for clearance to do anything.”

Jack glared at him before he pouted. “Agree to disagree?” he asked.

“Of course,” Gabriel smiled as he started eating.

Jack rolled his eyes, but he was too adorable too be serious. Gabriel smiled more, enjoying the quiet meal they were sharing. If he could freeze time, this would be a moment to linger on. Jack being adorably pouty, John smiling that tired smile of his, and Gabriel watching it all. It was perfect.

* * *

 

Gabriel watched Jack waste away in his bed. His already dull eyes grew even duller and he spent most of his time sleeping. Gabriel took to changing his bedpan every hour, working with the nurses to keep Jack’s frail body from growing stagnant in foul fluids. He took Jack out in a wheelchair when he could, walking him through the halls just for a change in scenery.

“Thank you,” Jack murmured as Gabriel was sponging him down. “You didn’t have to do this for me.”

“We do anything for the people we love,” Gabriel said as he cleaned carefully between Jack’s legs. “Even wipe their ass.”

Jack let out a weak laugh as he stared at the ceiling. “I would get the embarrassing sponge bath from the hot nurse,” he teased.

Something about Jack’s voice sounded wrong. Gabriel looked up, blinking as he watched Jack’s eyelids flutter. He moved forward as Jack whimpered in pain, taking in the way that Jack was lying on the bed. He was stiff necked, almost like his head was suddenly too heavy for his neck to hold up on its own. Jack’s eyes opened for a moment, letting Gabriel see his blown pupils, before blood started trickling out of his nose.

“Fuck!” Gabriel shouted before he hammered on the button to call the nurses.

It was a nightmare. He was evicted from the room so the nurses could work and they locked the door behind him. He wanted to beat his fists against the door and scream, but he knew that would upset the other terminal patients in the ward. He took to pacing, trying to keep his terrified sobbing to himself. People gave him sad looks as they passed, hurrying on their way before they were sucked into his sadness. They didn’t need to be told why someone was outside of a closed door in this ward.

John showed up just before they let Gabriel back into the room. His eyes were red and his hands were shaking as he pushed past Gabriel into the room. Jack’s eyes were closed and there were more wires poking into him than before. The tube in his nose seemed bigger than before, forcing its way down his nasal passage into his lungs.

“It was a brain aneurysm,” the lead nurse sighed. “We have him on artificial respiration and his brainwave activity is flagging. I’m sorry, Mr. Morrison; I don’t think Jack will survive the night.”

Gabriel let out a long whine as he sat down beside the bed. John nodded his head in understanding as he fought back tears. The nurse stayed to talk with John, explaining the options available to him. Gabriel took Jack’s hand and squeeze, staring into his gaunt face.

“John,” he whispered. “You promised.”

“I know,” John swallowed thickly. “We’ll keep him until the morning when the…when the funeral home is open. I don’t want him sitting in a morgue.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Morrison,” the nurse said. “He won’t feel anything, I promise.”

John nodded and the nurse left. He swayed on the spot before sinking down onto the bed beside Jack and starting to sob. Gabriel bowed his head as John’s cries of anguish filled the room. He’d hoped that Jack would pass in his sleep; he hadn’t wanted to be the one to pull the plug. Gabriel couldn’t blame him; he wouldn’t have wanted to be the one to make the call on whether or not his child was going to be kept alive artificially.

Gabriel spent the night in the chair, letting John have the bed beside his son. He slept fitfully, afraid that he was going to fall asleep and miss Jack’s final moments. He’d wake up feeling like the world was ending, but Jack’s machines were still beeping steadily and John was still crying. He’d never felt so much pain in his life and he knew it was because his world was drawing to a close. With Jack gone, he would lose the last important thing in the world.

“Gabriel,” John woke him with a gentle shake of his shoulders. “It’s time. Say your goodbyes.”

Gabriel got to his feet and sat down on the bed. Jack looked oddly peaceful, but would he even hear them before he sank forever into sleep? He reached out and ran his fingers through Jack’s wispy white hair, swallowing the lump that had been stuck in his throat since the night before. His hair had only started to grow back and it wasn’t that beautiful gold anymore. He really did look like a sick old man.

“The pain’s going to end soon, Jack,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I didn’t come see you sooner. I never stopped loving you. I’m so sorry for hurting you.”

Tears fell down his face and he bowed forward and pressed his forehead against Jack’s. John rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, offering what comfort he could. Gabriel heard the nurses walk in and start making preparations around him. He pulled himself away from Jack, giving the nurses room to work.

He didn’t hear anything they said as they prepared to take Jack off life-support. He just watched the monitors as the steady heartbeat suddenly turned into a flatline. He closed his eyes as more tears fell; he swore the room got colder as Jack died. The nurses said something, but he didn’t know anything until John gently took his shoulders and led him away.

“He’s gone,” Gabriel whispered. “Just like that.”

“I know,” John soothed. “I know.”

“I can’t,” Gabriel hiccupped. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I’m so sorry, John.”

“My son is dead, but he’s no longer suffering,” John nodded as he guided Gabriel down to a chair. “I’ve watched him waste away for five years, Gabriel. As much as it breaks my heart, at least he isn’t suffering. That is all I can ask for.”

Gabriel nodded, feeling his throat constrict painfully. John sat down beside him and started bouncing his leg. He tipped his head back, fighting tears until they started falling in thick, ugly lines down his face. Gabriel leaned over and hugged the older man tightly, running his fingers soothingly through graying golden hair.

Jack should have had this hair. He should have lived to get old and gray. He should have lived to see his father retire. He pushed his face into John’s hair, whimpering loudly as he held the father of the love of his life close to his chest. It was all he had left.

* * *

 

Gabriel hadn’t wanted to attend Jack’s funeral. He hadn’t wanted to see that smiling picture of Jack in front of the urn of ashes. He hadn’t wanted that final image burned into his brain. He’d wanted to go on pretending that he was alright and that his death hadn’t affected him as much as it had.

But John had asked him to be there. He’d wanted him to be there. He’d never been as close with John as he was getting Jack’s body ready for burial. He’d been the old man’s comfort blanket, holding him when the stress of the situation got the better of him. It wasn’t easy planning a burial; it was even harder planning your child’s funeral.

So, there he was, staring at the picture of a golden-haired Jack in front of a white urn. John was standing beside him, his eyes red from crying, but a smile on his face. He was speaking with a cousin of Jack’s, telling her excitedly about the last project Jack worked on; rebuilding an engine in an old Mustang ’65 for a very enthusiastic collector.

“He almost had it done before…he was diagnosed,” John said. “It was such a beautiful car too. I’m sad he didn’t get to see its completion.”

A hand rested on Gabriel’s elbow and he glanced at Ana. She was dabbing at her eyes, smiling up at him sadly. Her daughter was trudging along behind her, her eyes downcast as she paid her respects. Fareeha was still young; did she fully understand what Jack had gone through and why death was a blessing to him? Gabriel was an adult and he still was struggling with that idea.

“I’m glad you were there for him,” Ana said as she patted his arm. “It’s what he would have wanted.”

Gabriel set his jaw and nodded. He would have preferred to be there sooner, before he was diagnosed with cancer. What good was he to a dying man? Jack probably just said what he did to make him feel better. A dying man’s last kind act to a man that had greatly wronged him and come back begging for forgiveness.

“Gabe,” John smiled at him. “Walk with me?”

Gabriel nodded and followed the man. He felt stiff and uncoordinated as he walked beside John, like his limbs were too small to support his body. They were walking towards a quiet part of the house, settling down in the kitchen where there was more food than Gabriel could hope to eat. John would be set for the rest of the year with all that food in his house. John looked out the window before he smiled sadly.

“Jack wanted to have his ashes spread out under the old oak,” he said. “It was always his favourite one to lie under when it got too hot to work.”

“Jack would shirk his duties?” Gabriel asked with as much humour as he could manage.

“Kids always do,” John laughed. “Oh, that boy could figure out a million ways to get out of chores, but they’d always get done, so I never got mad. I miss those days.”

“So we’ll spread the ashes at sunset?” Gabriel asked.

John nodded before he pulled something out of his jacket pocket. He offered a long box to Gabriel and gave it a shake to make him take it. Gabriel frowned as he took the box, setting it on his lap to open it. He pulled out a small pendent and blinked at it.

“Is this…?” he whispered.

“Jack had the final arrangements done when you were with us for a while,” John said as tears burned down his face. “That crystal has the ashes of his heart. So you would always have it near you.”

Gabriel slipped the pendant over his head and clutched it in his hand against his chest. He nodded, unable to say anything else. This was the best gift he could have received. It was more than forgiveness; it was a promise to be with him until his death. He had Jack’s heart against his until Death came for him. Then…he hoped that he and Jack had forever.

“You’re family, Gabriel,” John said as he rubbed between Gabriel’s shoulders. “Don’t be afraid to come see me if you need to. I’m always going to be here.”

“Thank you,” Gabriel twisted to hide his face in John’s shoulders. “Thank you.”

This was what he needed. He’d always have a piece of Jack with him, no matter what. It was more than he deserved and it was so like Jack to give him exactly what he needed when he couldn’t think of it himself. Rest in peace, Jack. He’d see him soon; time was meaningless to the dead, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> *waves hands at face because I'm crying too* Thank you all for reading. I'm sorry for your excessive use of tissues. *I'm totally not; your tears fuel me*


End file.
